Photo by Ron Burkett.
Alan “Big Al” Nichols is giving new life to a beloved Birmingham staple.
When Alan “Big Al” Nichols received the offer to buy the Pasquale’s in Clay, he saw an opportunity to breathe new life into a Birmingham tradition.
The restaurant was once part of a popular chain that covered the Birmingham area in the ’60s and ’70s.
“The corporation Pasquale’s has been gone since the early ’90s,” Nichols said, whose parents ran one of the establishments when he was growing up.
When the previous owner of the location in Clay, at 5180 Old Springville Road, decided to retire, she gave Nichols a call.
“She’s 80 years old; she wanted to sell it,” he said. “So she called me and talked to me about it, and I decided to give it a shot again.”
“Giving it a shot” first meant getting the building back up to code — something which turned out to be more difficult than Nichols had anticipated.
“So I just decided to gut it and start all over,” he said. From full kitchen and bathroom renovations to a fresh paint job and new flat screen televisions, nothing was left untouched.
Despite the many changes, Nichols’ goal was to return the establishment to its glory days. He kept the original menu items, going so far as to track down the company that once provided the chain’s famous “yellow bread.”
“Pasquale’s was a fixture in Birmingham in the ’70s,” he said. “Everybody knew about Pasquale’s.”
But that didn’t mean the menu went without its own makeover.
“When my dad got out of Pasquale’s, he started his own restaurant called Nick’s Italian,” Nichols said. “And he did that for 20 years.”
In addition to the original menu options, the new owner came to the business with a number of his father’s recipes.
On Dec. 20, the establishment opened its doors once again, offering everything from pizza and pasta to salad and Stromboli. The response was nothing short of overwhelming.
“When I opened up the doors the first day, there were probably 40 people waiting on the sidewalk,” Nichols said. “It was unbelievable.”
Although Nichols had to hire more help in order to keep up with the demand, he said the staff has gotten into the swing of things.
“Everything’s running smooth,” he said.
Now, they’re serving guests from as far as Hoover and Troy.
“[We] had a man and lady drive over from Atlanta,” Nichols said. “So it’s pretty cool.”
And according to Nichols, people are enjoying themselves.
“I’ve probably had four or five people a day tell me they love the atmosphere,” he said. “They say it even makes the food taste better.”
In light of the recent success, Nichols is looking for ways to expand the business, both in the near and distant future. He plans to have online ordering available as soon as possible and is researching the possibility of delivery.
Within the next few years, he said he hopes to explore the possibility of opening additional locations. One dish at a time, he wants to prove that Pasquale’s still has something to bring to the table.
